Knowing vs Experiencing
by abbyismyfavorite11
Summary: Daniel is stressed and goes on a walk to figure out why. Who does he meet along the way?


**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Duh.**

**A/N: So, basically I am LOVING this show and I want to see it have a lot of fanfiction… but there is not a lot so far… AND IT'S KILLING ME… so I figured I should try my hand… if it is awful, please tell me to shut up… that is all.**

Dr. Daniel Pierce was restless. It wasn't his normal—well, normal for him—"I need a good puzzle" restless. No, this was something more. This was a restlessness that stemmed from anxiety. He needed to figure out what was bothering him before his subconscious could let him know in an all-too-obvious way that he was stressed.

He needed to take a walk.

Usually Lewicki accompanied him to make sure that anyone he talked to was actually there, but he had already sent the man off on a different assignment for him. Daniel figured, however, that going on a walk by himself wasn't the worst thing in the world—it's not as if he really liked talking to strangers anyway.

He hadn't gone far when he found Natalie sitting on a bench, as if waiting for him to arrive.

"Natalie? What are you doing here?" He asked as he sat down beside her.

"What do you think I'm doing? I came to see you."

" Well, okay. I would ask for your help on a case, but I don't have one right now, so—"

"That's not why I'm here, Daniel, and you know it," she cut him off.

"No, I most certainly do not! Please, tell me, why are you here?" He asked, almost indignantly.

"Because you need my help, Daniel. That is always why I show up. You need my help figuring out why you are so anxious and I know that Kate—"

"No, Natalie! We are not having that conversation right now!" he interrupted her, because all he wanted to do was figure out why he was too restless to get any amount of peaceful sleep lately.

"But Daniel, that is exactly the conversation we need to have," she answered patiently.

"Oh yeah? And why is that?" he cried, starting to get angry with her.

"Because she is the reason you are so restless," she responded calmly.

"What!?" Now he was angry. "If you are going to be another Lewicki, telling me I shouldn't work with her because it messes up my routine and—"

"No, Daniel. That is not what I'm saying at all. I think it is great that you are working with her. You get to use that crazy brain of yours to solve puzzles that help other people. It is good for you to see that you can help other people—not that teaching doesn't show you that, but this gives more immediate and tangible results. No, the cases are not the problem."

After a long pause he asked, "Okay, well, what is it, then?"

Cautiously she almost whispered, "It's…her."

"What!?" he almost shouted.

"Well, more specifically," she continued, "it's you…and her…It's your thoughts and fears…about her."

"Are we sure I am the crazy one in this relationship? What are you saying?"

"You value her friendship and you want it to last, but you are afraid she won't want to deal with every part of you," she answered.

Daniel sat up straighter and visibly tensed, as he exclaimed, "No! No, no, no! That is not true! I know she won't! I _know_ I am going to scare her off! There is no fear there, because I am _positive_ it will happen and I am dreading the day. I just know I am going to walk into an otherwise empty room with her and that infuriating partner of hers and start talking to someone who isn't there! It will be so embarrassing!" By the end of his rant, he was shouting at Natalie.

"There. Doesn't that feel better? To express your concerns and yell a little bit?" She said softly. "But Daniel, this is not something you should be embarrassed about. You can't control when this happens, but it is a part of who you are, and she knows it."

"Yes, but knowing is different than—"

"_Daniel Pierce_ if you use that excuse _one_ more time, I swear!" Natalie exclaimed, cutting him off. "If you think that seeing you while you are a little bit crazy is going to scare this girl away, then you seriously underestimate her. Actually, I think it would be better for Kate to experience it just so that she is _not_ scared of you."

"What!?" he exclaimed, back on the defensive. "You think it is a good idea for her to see me ranting and raving at the empty seat on a bench? You think that is less frightening than me when I'm normal?"

"You're never normal, Daniel."

He scoffed, "Oh, gee, thanks, Natalie."

"No, well, think about it. I mean—"

"No, I know." He interrupted. "Normal implies the same as others, and no one is exactly like everyone else, so there really is no normal. If no one is normal, everyone is weird, and if everyone is weird, then everyone is the same in that one area, so in fact, are normal in their weirdness. So, normal, but not really. But Natalie, my weird is crazier than everyone else's weird. Literally. So, how do you propose that Kate _experiencing_ me as crazy is better than her just _knowing_ that I'm crazy?"

"Daniel, think about it. If she knows you are a bit crazy but hasn't seen it, wouldn't that be a lot scarier than not knowing what to expect? Once she has seen it, it's not scary anymore. Everyone talks to himself, Daniel. You just happen to see a different part of yourself talking back."

"So what do you suggest I do? Invite her over and wait until you show up? Introduce you to each other?" Daniel was getting frustrated with Natalie and the topic at hand, and his sarcasm was starting to get the better of him.

But Natalie kept calm. "No. Just stop worrying about her being scared away. Everything will be fine, even if it may freak her out a bit a first. Just—"

"No. No. I need to figure how to deal with this. I need to finish my walk."

With that, he got up from the bench, turned away from Natalie, took two steps on the sidewalk, and stood face to face with Kate.

"Hi, Daniel."

**A/N: Did you like it? Please write your own stories! I much prefer reading to writing. I might do another chapter from Kate's perspective if anyone wants it.**


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